Citation NR: 9621305
Decision Date: 07/31/96 Archive Date: 08/06/96
DOCKET NO. 94-15 037 ) DATE
)
)
On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in St.
Petersburg, Florida
THE ISSUE
Entitlement to service connection for coronary artery
disease.
REPRESENTATION
Appellant represented by: Disabled American Veterans
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD
K. J. Kunz, Associate Counsel
INTRODUCTION
The veteran had active service from August 1956 to July 1980.
This appeal arises from a June 1993 rating decision of the
St. Petersburg, Florida, Regional Office (RO). In that
decision, the RO denied service connection for coronary
artery disease.
CONTENTIONS OF APPELLANT ON APPEAL
The veteran contends that he had symptoms of coronary artery
disease while he was in service, but that those symptoms were
attributed to the effects of smoking. He asserts that
symptoms including headaches, high blood pressure, and pain
in the arms and chest that occurred during service were
indications that he had coronary artery disease at that time.
He also contends that coronary artery disease may have been
aggravated during service.
DECISION OF THE BOARD
The Board, in accordance with the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A.
§ 7104 (West 1991 & Supp. 1995), has reviewed and considered
all of the evidence and material of record in the veteran's
claims file. Based on its review of the relevant evidence in
this matter, and for the following reasons and bases, it is
the decision of the Board that the claim for service
connection for coronary artery disease is not a well grounded
claim, and is denied.
FINDING OF FACT
The veteran has not submitted competent evidence that he had
coronary artery disease or any related disorder during
service or the year following service.
CONCLUSION OF LAW
The claim for service connection for coronary artery disease
is not well grounded. 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 1110, 1131, 5107 (West
1991 & Supp. 1995); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.307, 3.309 (1995).
REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION
Service connection may be established for a disability
resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by
service. 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 1110, 1131 (West 1991 & Supp. 1995);
38 C.F.R. § 3.303 (1995). In the case of certain
disabilities that are recognized by regulations as chronic
diseases, including arteriosclerosis, cardiovascular disease,
and hypertension, service connection may be established if
the disability was manifested to a compensable degree within
one year of separation from service. 38 U.S.C.A. §§ 1101,
1112, 1113, 1137 (West 1991 & Supp. 1995); 38 C.F.R.
§§ 3.307, 3.309 (1995).
A person who submits a claim for veteran's benefits has the
burden of submitting evidence sufficient to justify a belief
by a fair and impartial individual that the claim is well
grounded. 38 U.S.C.A. § 5107(a) (West 1991 & Supp. 1995).
The United States Court of Veterans Appeals (Court) has
defined a well grounded claim as a plausible claim; one which
is meritorious on its own or capable of substantiation.
Murphy v. Derwinski, 1 Vet.App. 78, 81 (1990).
In Caluza v. Brown, 7 Vet.App. 498 (1995), the Court set out
three requirements that must be met in order for a claim of
service connection to be considered well grounded. First,
there must be competent evidence of a current disability (a
medical diagnosis). Second, there must be competent evidence
of incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury in
service (lay or medical evidence). Third, there must be
competent evidence of a nexus between the injury or disease
in service and the current disability (medical evidence).
The third requirement can be satisfied by a statutory
presumption that certain diseases that manifest within
certain prescribed periods are related to service. Caluza,
supra, at 506.
The veteran currently has coronary artery disease established
by medical diagnosis. There is no evidence, however, that
the veteran had coronary artery disease during service or
during the year following his separation from service. The
veteran states, and medical evidence confirms, that his
coronary artery disease was not diagnosed until 1992. The
veteran’s service medical records are silent for findings of
coronary artery disease or other cardiovascular disorders.
There is no evidence that the veteran had cardiovascular
problems during the year following his retirement from
service in 1980. The veteran’s cardiovascular condition was
reported to be normal in medical records dated as late as
1990.
The veteran asserts that coronary artery disease could have
been present while he was in service, but that he and the
doctors who treated him mistook symptoms of coronary artery
disease for the effects of cigarette smoking. His service
medical records reflect a long history of cigarette smoking.
The records show treatment for frequent or chronic bronchitis
throughout the 1970s. In some reports, chest pain reported
by the veteran was attributed to bronchitis.
The veteran has submitted highlighted copies of records of
treatment during and after service at a United States Air
Force Hospital. A record from September 1978 reported that
he was seen for symptoms of nausea, a faint and light-headed
feeling, and a purple appearance of the lips. On
examination, heart sounds were normal, and an
electrocardiogram (ECG) was within normal limits. The
examiner’s assessment was a viral syndrome. In July 1982,
the veteran was seen reporting several days of intermittent
pain in the right side of his head and in his left arm. His
blood pressure was measured as 180/102 initially, with
diastolic readings declining to below 100 over the following
days. The examiner’s assessment was an acute exacerbation of
bronchitis.
Service medical records, and records from the year following
the veteran’s service, did not show sustained high blood
pressure readings. Medical records from service and the year
after service reported normal heart sounds and ECGs within
normal limits, with no reports of cardiovascular problems.
The record does not contain any medical evidence or opinion,
from during service or since, indicating that the veteran’s
chest pain or other symptoms could be signs of cardiovascular
problems. In issues of medical causation or diagnosis,
competent medical evidence that a claim is plausible is
required. Grottveit v. Brown, 5 Vet.App. 91, 92-93 (1993).
Although the veteran asserts that his symptoms during service
might have been signs of coronary artery disease, he is not
competent to offer a medical opinion, and he has not
submitted any competent medical evidence or opinion in
support of his opinion. In the absence of evidence that the
veteran had coronary artery disease during service or the
year following service, the veteran’s service connection
claim does not meet the requirements for a well grounded
claim. The claim is therefore denied.
ORDER
A well-grounded claim for service connection for coronary
artery disease not having been submitted, the claim is
denied.
JACK W. BLASINGAME
Member, Board of Veterans' Appeals
The Board of Veterans' Appeals Administrative Procedures
Improvement Act, Pub. L. No. 103-271, § 6, 108 Stat. 740, 741
(1994), permits a proceeding instituted before the Board to
be assigned to an individual member of the Board for a
determination. This proceeding has been assigned to an
individual member of the Board.
(CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE)
NOTICE OF APPELLATE RIGHTS: Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7266 (West
1991 & Supp. 1995), a decision of the Board of Veterans'
Appeals granting less than the complete benefit, or benefits,
sought on appeal is appealable to the United States Court of
Veterans Appeals within 120 days from the date of mailing of
notice of the decision, provided that a Notice of
Disagreement concerning an issue which was before the Board
was filed with the agency of original jurisdiction on or
after November 18, 1988. Veterans' Judicial Review Act,
Pub. L. No. 100-687, § 402, 102 Stat. 4105, 4122 (1988). The
date which appears on the face of this decision constitutes
the date of mailing and the copy of this decision which you
have received is your notice of the action taken on your
appeal by the Board of Veterans' Appeals.
- 2 -